Improvement in apparatus for cutting out knitted stockings



UNITED STATES PATENT FEICE.

WILLIAM MARTIN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT lN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING OUT KNITTED'STOCKINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 43,783, dated August 9,1864.

To all whom, it may concern,.- f

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MARTIN, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, haveinvented an Arrangement of Trimming-Knives for Cutting Knitted Fabrics,and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists of an arrangement, fully described hereinafter, ofcutting-knives with straight and lzigzag blades, for the purpose of sosevering tubes of knitted fabrics that when the same are stitched in theform of socks or stockings no subsequent cutting or trimming will benecessary.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use myinvention, I will now proceed to describe its construction andoperation.

On reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved trimming-knivesfor cutting knitted fabrics prior to the same being formed into socks orstockings; Fig. 2, a diagram showing the tubular knitted fabricas cut bythe knives; Fig. 3, a plan view of part of the severed tube of knittedfabric; Fig. 4, a view of Fig. '3, folded to the form of a sock orstoekin g and Fig. 5, a plan view of Fig. 4 on the line 1 2, Fig. 1.

Socks and stockings of the common class are made` from tubes of fabricproduced by the yordinary circular-knitting machines. In convertingthese tubes into socks and stockings it has been usual hitherto to socut the fabric before stitching the saine as to involve the necessity ofsubsequent cutting and trimming, a labor obviated by my invention, whichI will now proceed to describe.

A is a metal plate, io which are secured the series of knives of thepeculiar form and arrangement seen in Fig. l, these knives projecting toa suitable distanceabove the plate A, and having sharp cutting-edges.

B may be termed the longitudinal knife,

the continuity of which is interrupted by the l angular or zigzag bladesa and a.

At a given distance from each end of the longitudinal knife, and atright angles to the .Vsa'ne, is a blade, D, one of these bladesprojecting in one direction and the other in the opposite direction fromthe longitudinal knife.

It should be understood that the cuttinged ges of the whole of theseblades are on the same plane.

A tube of `knitted fabric, or several tubes, one above the other, andindicated by the red lines a., Fig. 1, isplaced upon the cuttingedges ofthe knives. Pressure is then applied to the fabric, which is severed bythe blades,

as shown in Fig. 2, each of the pieces F and F being converted into a..stocking in the following manner: Taking the piece F, for instance, itis turned to a position at right angles to that shown in Fig. 2, andflattened out, as seen in Fig. 3. The fabric is then folded at thenarrowest point, y, the portion from y to c being folded over the otherport'on, so that the inclined edges d and d shall coincide with eachother and form, when stitched together, the tapering toe of the sock Vorstocking.

The edge f, cut by the knife D, forms, when stitched, the bottom of theheel, to which the under fold is united to form the foot, by bending thefabric at the instep h and stitching the end e to the edge j, which wasseverfd by the portion i of the knife B.

The tube of fabric has now assumed the form represented in Fig. 4, andthe several edges are stitched together so as to complete the foot, theuncut portion of the tube forming the leg of the sock or stocking, intowhich the usual former is then inserted, the latter, with the sock orstocking, being subjeeted to pressure, as usual.

It will be understood that the piece F of the severed tube is convertedinto a sock or stocking in the manner above described.

In severing the tube of fabric the only part Wasted is that inclosed bythe zigzag cutting-edges a, and a', the shape of which is such that thedesired tapering form of the toe is produced without the necessity ofresorting to the trimming and cutting to which socks as ordinarilyformed from tubes have to be subjected after they are stitched.

I claim as' my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- Thearrangement described of knives with straight cutting-edges AB B andzigzag cutting-edges a and a', for the purpose `specied.

In testimony whereof I have signed my nume t0 this specification in theypresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WM. MARTIN.

Witnesses:

HENRY HoWsoN7 JOHN WHITE.

